Follow along as I cook all the recipes in The Gourmet Cookbook and Gourmet Today.

"Perhaps the most impressive of all the cookbook blogs are the three devoted to the 2004 edition of Gourmet magazine's "The Gourmet Cookbook" -- all 5¼ pounds and 1,300-odd recipes of it. Befitting this culinary Everest, all three writers are overachievers in their professional lives."

--Lee Gomes, The Wall Street Journal, May 28, 2008

"I should have told you before how much I've been enjoying reading your thoughts. You seem like such a great cook."

Monday, December 1, 2008

Halibut with Spicy Asian Vinaigrette and Wasabi Cream

There's a certain point when I'm trying to follow a recipe when I pull the plug on writing about it, and it has to do with the compromises I make while shopping for the dish. So I was on the fence about Halibut with Spicy Asian Vinaigrette and Wasabi Cream right up until the moment I put the first bite into my mouth.

Why the vacillation?

1. no halibut--I got haddock instead2. I couldn't find sambal oelek and bought Spicy Thai Sauce instead, hoping it was the same thing3. I couldn't find pickled ginger and bought preserved ginger instead.4. 2 lbs of haddock in even my biggest pan does not sear, it steams due to the close proximity of all that fish. I could have done half at a time but it was 8:45pm and I was STARVING. No fussiness when I'm starving.

So my fish did not look anything like this pretty picture:

But folks, let me tell you--when I took my first bite all doubts ran away because the magic in this dish is the combination of the fish, the chili vinaigrette, and the wasabi cream. Seriously yummy. The sear, the ginger, the parsley--that's all window dressing. Well, the ginger is a taste factor and I'm going to try to find some just for the full experience--but I'm glad I stuck with it in spite of the ingredient challenges, and even MORE glad that I've got leftovers. This dish was discovered at Highland's Garden Cafe in Denver, Colorado, so lucky Colorado readers, go eat there and tell me if the food is still this good and I need to buy a plane ticket.